Problem: As the semiconductor industry continues to
extend the limits of current lithography technologies, there is a
growing need for photomask etching techniques that can handle the range
of new materials being used. Many of these new materials enable the
use of resolution enhancement techniques, such as optical proximity
correction (OPC) and alternating phase shift mask (aPSM), while meeting
the needs in a single platform for all photomask etching requirements.

Solution:
Tetra III is designed to enable the etching of 45nm photomasks with the
ability to control trench depths across quartz masks to <10Å, and
reduces critical dimension (CD) loss to <10nm. This reduction
enables the use of aPSM and aggressive optical proximity correction
techniques in the most critical device layers. The system offers zero
defect, high productivity etch processes for chrome, quartz, molybdenum
silicon oxynitride (MoSiON) and various new materials for next
generation lithography applications, according to Applied Materials.
The system employs advanced processes, so that the system can etch a
wide variety of masks. This minimizes dependencies on process
libraries, tool operation complexities, development cycle times, and
expert users.